The rose brides holiday
by Neptunes Tears
Summary: What if suddenly Utena broke the rules and gave Anthy a holiday? Would it be possible? Even if it isn’t time for the revolution, that doesn’t mean the rose bride can’t have a good time.. (The finale's up! ) Please, r&r. U/A
1. Default Chapter

Authors Notes:  
  
After being captive to my computer, school and hiding in the shadow of winter, you have no idea what a journey to a park in the warmth of the spring, even the car ride, did for me. ^_^;  
  
That's how this story came about. What if suddenly Utena broke the rules and gave Anthy a holiday? Would it be possible? Even if it isn't time for the revolution, that doesn't mean the rose bride can't have a good time.  
  
I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did writing it!  
  
~ * ~  
  
It was just hot enough for the over head fan to be on low speed in the tiny dorm room. Utena Tenjou was laying back on the neatly made sheets of the bottom bunk, so unlike her rumpled own which she insisted the rose bride not to fix.  
  
The sunlight outside poured in through the window and the wind whispered secrets with the scent of budding flowers mostly roses. The air was crisp with the fading winter and refreshing with the coming summer, it was an intoxicating sugary sweetness which made everything a little off balance for awhile, caught up in its wake.  
  
Quite suddenly on an impulse and with an urgency that surprised even her self, Utena blurted out.  
  
"Let's get out."  
  
The rose bride, who had been using the sunlight to her advantage, paused in her work. The delicately sheer curtain of the dorm's open glass window -which she had been cleaning before- was caught in the last strong thrust of the now fleeting soft breeze and kept it gently in the air a moment; pausing as if holding its breath, as if waiting for an answer.  
  
Shielded from the prince's gaze by this misty veil were Anthy's face and her expression which was of surprise and little uncertainty. Finally as the curtain fell completely they locked and held eyes as if one challenged the others thoughts. Or as if waiting for the small room to object, to deny that those words were said before on the ordinary.  
  
Somehow, somewhere, the request must have been granted for the nervous rose bride who kept her pose well, nodded and gave her classic smile.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Indeed.  
  
~ * ~  
  
"Where would you like to go?" Utena's voice was broke her thoughts in her mind and she looked to her. "We can go anywhere you want... It's such a nice day, isn't it?" The prince paused and turned around seeing that the dark skinned girl didn't follow her past the gates and she had been walking a few steps alone. The girl looked a bit beside her self and her hand touched the brick wall as if she couldn't let go, Utena being a little alarmed, walked back at once and put her hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Himemiya, we don't have to go." She said gently.  
  
"No." Anthy answered almost as if far away before closing her eyes and opening them to look at her and smile.  
  
"I want to." And after a moment, she stepped out and into the sun light, her heart beating quicker then usual. From time to time she thought about looking back, feeling a little giddy; No one did this before. She wondered why it was allowed.  
  
They walked down the long street into town and into the busying traffic like a frozen stream which flow quickened as the sunlight melted the ice and Anthy felt her head swim a little.  
  
"How about we take the trolley..."  
  
Anthy stood as if paralyzed. "Anoh.. Utena sama.."  
  
Utena hopped on and the great machine began slowly to move.  
  
"Come on, before it leaves.. Take my hand!"  
  
Anthy reached out as Utena smiled and grabbed her hand gently pulling her up as the train gained speed and Anthy clung to the rail watching the already small ground of the campus get smaller and smaller till it was no longer on the horizon. It was an odd feeling, almost scary.  
  
She felt a reassuring presence beside her seeing Utena smiling in the sunlight and relaxed letting the fast wind tug at her neatly placed hair; as if trying to loosen it. It felt so strange breathing in the rushes of air outside of the campus. The freedom was weird and wonderful to her and she was glad she at least had the restricting feeling of her hair up in its usual way, gave her; a reassurance that it was something to keep her from completely loosing her self.  
  
The sunlight sparkled through the clouds and they found themselves getting off at a stop just out of town they both walked down a street with a slight incline, it drew their footsteps to quicken. With every step Anthy's foot steps felt heaver and her breath more labored as if the more distance they traveled the more it weighed against her heart but yet she was smiling. She blocked out anything else but their adventure, the sunlight, and the wind hitting her face.  
  
Suddenly as if appearing from seemingly no where, happiness and a mouthwatering smell of candied apples and pop corn drifted to them. They stopped in front of a carnival and gasped at the twinkling lights, uplifting music and chorus of laughing people. It seemed odd since it wasn't really the season for it but days like this weren't ordinary, and considering their everyday life, Utena walked in without a second thought and Anthy followed at her heel.  
  
Utena bought two tickets and lead her over to a carousal which was boarding people. The pink haired girl struck a pose with a beautiful stallion decorated with painted white roses and a golden roped rein.  
  
"Whatca think? Does this horse suit me?" Anthy fought a blush as she looked upon her victor who looked very princely and she stood besides her nodding. "It does." The ride began to begin and Utena took her place on the saddle.  
  
"Ride with me?" Anthy smiled and hopped on too, as if she was still in her rose bride dress. She sat slightly rigid as if mentally waiting for the command to relax but soon she leaned back a little against the red tank top of her victor. The world around them blurred and the music slowed. Utena inhaled and caught the scent of Anthy's hair and skin which was so close; it was always the scent of roses. She joked and held her one arm around her waist and winked at her.  
  
"Better hold on."  
  
Another horse seemed to pull up beside them as if they had been in a race and the flicker of red hair and a charismatic Cheshire cat smile caught their attention.  
  
"Nice day, isn't it?" The student counsel president asked from his own mount, Nanami cuddled against his chest giving her older brother adoring looks.  
  
"Touga. What are you doing here?" Utena the shock of surprised jaded out of her since she stepped into that school. His rose crest glittered in the sun light as he pushed his hair back from his eyes, they turned a rounded corner. She wondered if what ever was behind the duels were behind this also.  
  
Somewhere on a game board, a casual movement of a pawn was slid into place; the player was pleased at this unexpected victory. Checkmate.  
  
"Didn't you see the pin up in the main entrance of the academy's hall?" Touga began, his voice unraveling like rich material, telling a secret. "As of this morning, today is an official day off for students and faculty members... It is the first day of spring, after all. The dean wrote it himself."  
  
Spring, one of four seasons. It is a hushed time of weather not quite sure of its self and torn between warmth and chill. A time just newly released from the icy grip of winter yet before the overwhelming heat and greenery of summer was overly present. The roses were just beginning to bud for bloom, decisions were not quite formed to be made, feelings were not quite determined. Utena frowned slightly looking around as she saw the whole population of Ohtori academy around them. This day had been hers and Anthy's alone. She felt the rose bride sit up again with the same pose as before and shared her smile with Utena and her sempai.  
  
"Wasn't that nice of my Oniisama?"  
  
The ride slowed to a stop and Utena and Anthy, as well as Touga and Nanami climbed off and onto the fair grounds again.  
  
"If everyone has the day off... That means."  
  
"U-T-E-N-A! My love!" With a weight that brought back all the things the girl thought she left behind on the trolley, a smiling Wakaba with her rich brown curls pulled into a classic pony tale clung onto Utena's back with her habitual affectionate death grip; The classic glomp.  
  
"Wakaba. I guess you saw the announcement too huh?"  
  
"Yup! I went to see if you were in but you weren't there, I was going to ask if you would go with me but I see you already found someone." She noticed Anthy for the first time and slid of her back.  
  
"At dusk everyone's going to the Ferris wheel, so I'll see you there, right?" The girl bounded off with a few others after spotting their number one idol, Saionji.  
  
"Utena-sama, that game looks interesting over there." Anthy remarked as Utena was straitening herself after being love tackled and saw that it was a ring toss. She dug around her pocket for some change and then smiled.  
  
"Alright then, maybe I'll be able to win a prize." She said to her friend as they made their way over to it.  
  
"That teddy bear would look cute sitting on your bunk bed, just as long as ChuChu wouldn't get jealous, of course."  
  
Utena added with her hand behind her head and paid for a set of rings, rose red and the object of the game was to get a ring to fall into a glass vase, some empty. It was bonus points if you circled a ring around a rose in the occupied vases. She smirked slightly to herself as she tossed the first ring and bounced of the rim of a glass vase just to the right of her with a tinkling sound. Even if it was a carnival, they couldn't seem to get away from Ohtori.  
  
"I know you can do it." Anthy cheered softly beside her and suddenly she was reminded of why they came. The plastic ring circled a white bloomed rose, and she smiled.  
  
"Pick your prize, Hime. ^^"  
  
Anthy glanced up at all the stuffed animals before gasping and holding out her arms to a pitifully helpless looking ChuChu, who must have wondered curiously into something he shouldn't as was mistaken as a prize by the owner. The older man looked up from his news paper and reached up picking the mouse monkey from its peg on the wall by the back of its tie and handed it to its worried owner.  
  
"I was wondering where you ran off to."  
  
"That'll be a little extra for that certain animal, since it's the only one I got." The vendor said with his and out and Utena, with an un-amused expression handed over some more money.  
  
A little while later ChuChu busied himself in a box of over turned cracker jacks on a wooden bench beside Anthy who was watching her champion fish around her pockets for some more money that she didn't seem to have. With a sweat drop and a sigh she held her earnings in the palm of her hand, some coins, a bill, and a cookie that the mischievous little pet must have hid in her pocket for later use.  
  
"Well, after the tickets, paying off the vendor, the photo graph booth, the gold fish that you fell in love with and the box of cracker jacks for ChuChu, I'm just about broke. We were both thirsty too."  
  
"I don't mind." Anthy answered her unspoken thought as if she knew. "I'm not that thirsty; if I want some, Ill just sip yours." Utena blushed and nodded a little walking off towards the stand before looking back. "Stay right there, I'll be back in a few."  
  
"Alright!" Anthy called back with a smile and looked down at her small friend.  
  
"Anthy? I've never seen you like this before. What has that heathen Tenjou done to your better sense?" Saionji's only answer was her down cast glace to her tennis shoed feet. Utena had suggested she wore some better shoes fit for walking since they were going out, and not having any on hand, she barrowed hers. Her attire also consisted of shorts a little too short from being grown out of and not being replaced and a barrowed dark purple shirt that she also picked out of Utena's things. Her champion insisted that she should be comfortable and dress so that she wouldn't be too hot.  
  
"Oh well, I can't say that I really mind." He added with a smirk. "The sun is about to set, you're going to accompany me on the Ferris wheel." He growled being cut off by defecting caramel coated popcorn which was being tossed at him and stuffed the protesting animal in the empty box, closing the lid. ".Alone of course."  
  
"She's going with me, Saionji."  
  
"Utena-sama, you're back." Anthy stood up beside her victor as she freed ChuChu who thankfully climbed up her shoulder and hid in pink tresses.  
  
She took one look at the fuming green haired duelist before picking up the clear plastic bag with the gold fish in it and turning on her heel.  
  
Saionji glared at them before storming off to find someone to share a car with.  
  
~*~  
  
As people boarded they noticed a few couples from school and some familiar faces; Miki and Kozue, Touga and Nanami with Suzuki, Yamada, and Tanaka in the car behind them, hounding the arrogant girl with plush prizes and love sonnets. Even Juri and Shiori were present. It seemed after a short exchange of words, the cool panther gave in; letting spring get the better of her, if only for one night. Utena and Anthy boarded just in time and the ride began.  
  
"Stop it at the top!" A young girls voice cried and if Utena had noticed anything besides Anthy's arm grip hers as their car swayed slightly by the slowing movement, she would have noticed a sum of money being giving to the operator of the ride by three young girls for that arranged stop. She would have also noticed they were Nanami's posse. They waved up to the wheel as if saying all was taken care of and anyone who was dragged unto the ride by their 'dates' who objected, was soon being squeezed into silence. The prince smiled a little to her self imagining the miserable jerk Saionji getting what he deserved. let Wakaba make him beg for mercy for a while.  
  
"Are you having a good time, Himemiya?" She asked gently as the sun melted into the coast line out in the distance making the sky golden with flecks of pink and bluish purple. After a moment Anthy turned and looked at her with a smile she never gave anyone in a very long time and probably wouldn't ever again, in that world. She couldn't be sure but it looked like there were tears in her eyes. Anthy reached up and took the pins from her hair, rich purple curls spilled down her back and across her shoulders. The wind picked up and rose petals from the boy trio's rose bouquets to Nanami blew up and scattered them into the air, falling around the two like rain. Utena watched in surprise and smiled seeing the momentary joy in her friend's eyes and nothing else in the world mattered then.  
  
"Utena-sama?"  
  
"Hai, Hime."  
  
"Will we go to other Carnivals like this too, someday."  
  
"I promise."  
  
Utena wrapped her arm around the smaller girls shoulder, drawing her close and her head found the princes shoulder. ChuChu rolled his eyes and let out a soft sighing "Chu" but I think in his heart he felt glad for his mistress.  
  
~ * ~  
  
"Must we go back?..."  
  
~ * ~  
  
~ * To Be Continued * ~ 


	2. Finale

Authors Notes:  
  
Hello again, ^^; I still had more to write for this story but I felt the closing for the last one was good. So I decided the best way to do this, is make like a finale.  
  
Hope you don't mind. ^-~  
  
~ * ~  
  
Utena Tenjou pulled the curtains of her and the rose bride's cozy dorm room window closed, taking a longer time then usual arranging the material to shield the waxing moon's light. There seemed to be something on her mind, something in her eyes that reflected regret, even though the day was a good one.  
  
She turned and discreetly admired her mysterious dark skinned and violet haired friend who quietly observed the tiny gold fish swimming around its little glass dome. Her cheek was rested delicately on her hand and her eyes still held a glimmer of the true happiness Utena swore she had the privilege of seeing that day.  
  
"Anoh... Himemiya?" She began delicately.  
  
Anthy looked up meeting her gaze. "Hai, Utena-sama?"  
  
"Gomen... " Utena began regretfully, sitting across from her at their low table in front of their beds and picking up her rose tea cup which she had absentmindedly forgotten about before. She turned it in-between her hands looking into the still warm liquid, the rose crest shining through. "I meant for today to be something special. Something just for you."  
  
"Just for me." The rose bride echoed softly gazing at the small gold fish bowl again but not really seeing it. ChuChu sat on the edge of the glass, with a small fishing pole in his hands with nothing but the look of dinner in his eyes. Utena picked him up and scolded him with her eyes sitting him in front of a plate of tea cookies. He tore into them, his previous meal forgotten. She tried again.  
  
"What I mean is... " Feeling a little desperate to get her point across, the prince reached out and touched her cheek with the palm of her hand gently. Anthy's eyes widened a little in surprised and she looked up again, giving Utena her attention.  
  
"Anthy... you're my friend. It hurts me seeing you caught up in something you're forced to do. And... if there's anything I can do to help you, anything at all." Utena blushed lowering her eyes and her hand, placing it on the table next to a now full and snoring ChuChu. "I'd do it."  
  
Anthy reached out laying her hand on her own and met Utena's azure colored eyes, so shy yet burning with such a pure passion and nobility it was almost scorching, for someone so jaded and of such a tainted heart to gaze upon. If only she knew.  
  
"Utena... sama." She corrected herself quickly, careful not to loose herself so completely. "You've done more then enough already. I am the Rose Bride. what you did today would have been ordinarily against the code of the rose seal."  
  
"I understand... but haven't you ever wanted to break outside of the rose seal?" Utena murmured quietly as if the room could hear it and tell on her for breaking some unspoken rule.  
  
"Utena-sama, I had a wonderful time today." Anthy stood after a moment, the light from their desk lamp reflected off her glasses hiding her eyes. Utena's heart sank a little all the while, yet she couldn't place why.  
  
"Why don't we get some sleep now, classes will begin tomorrow as usual."  
  
"You're right." Utena sprinkled a few fish flakes into the bowl and placed it up where ChuChu couldn't get it incase he decided to get up for a midnight snack. Climbing up the steps of her bunk bed, she watched as Anthy turned took off her glasses and let down her hair to brush it quickly before turning out the light. She placed the still sleeping ChuChu in his own little sleeping bag tacked up on the bunk bed's post, before getting in her own bed herself.  
  
Utena's voice murmured softly though the settling darkness, more sleepy then before as she got settled under the covers and against her pillow.  
  
"You should let your hair down more often. It looks nice that way."  
  
"Would you like me too?"  
  
"Only if you want," She yawned and rolled over. "Goodnight Hime."  
  
"Goodnight, Utena-sama." She smiled discretely, pulling the covers to her chin.  
  
The ever-changing spring wind blew against their old dorm house and rattled the clean glass of their shut window, as if a last minute attempt.  
  
It would be summer soon.  
  
~ * ~  
  
- L A F I N - 


End file.
